Shadow on the Sand (11 page)
Once you have unlocked the door, you twist the handle and open it a few inches. You see a stair descending to a small chamber where a black-robed soldier is guarding a pair of iron gates. Through the bars you can see rows of weapons and suits of armour stacked in long racks. A sign fixed to the bars says:
If you have the Kai Discipline of Camouflage,
turn to 186
.
If you want to attack the guard,
turn to 178
.
If you want to close the door and take the other passage,
turn to 93
.
Suddenly you realize just how hungry you are. You must now eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points. You pass unseen through the exotic plants that grow everywhere in abundance. The gravelled path divides a lawn of strange, luxuriant, purple grass and leads to a magnificent fountain. A jet of clear blue water catches the sun, reflecting and refracting an eye-dazzling rainbow of colour. You gaze beyond the fountain to where the vaulting towers of the palace soar into the sky, and carefully note the positions of the doors and windows.
There are two entrances to the Grand Palace from the gardens; you can either go through the palace kitchens or through the
Vizu-diar
— the Zakhan's trophy hall. However, only one of these entrances will lead to the Imperial Apothecary, and to the precious Oede herb stored there.
If you have the Kai Discipline of Tracking or Sixth Sense,
turn to 37
.
If you wish to enter the palace through the kitchens,
turn to 66
.
If you wish to enter through the
Vizu-diar
,
turn to 149
.
The guards pull open the door, and you spring into action. Your clenched fist strikes the first man beneath his bearded jaw, lifting him from the floor with the power of the blow. His sword drops from his hand and clatters to the ground close to your feet.
If you wish to pick up the sword,
turn to 4
.
If you wish to ignore the sword and attack the second guard with your bare hands,
turn to 91
.
You are so irritated by the crawling mask of insects covering your skin that you fail to see the rusty metal post sticking out of the water ahead. You walk straight into it and lose your footing. Instinctively, you grab at the post, but like everything else it is covered with sewage, as slippery as Kalte ice.
The iron gates of the armoury are unlocked. You push open the left gate and wince as the shrill squeak of a dry hinge sends a shiver down your spine.
Inside, at the end of a long aisle, is a workbench, littered with spearheads, sword hilts, and all manner of armourer's tools. In the midst of this tangled mess is a large, black, leather-bound book.
If you wish to open the book,
turn to 83
.
If you wish to ignore the book and search for your confiscated equipment,
turn to 181
.
You throw yourself to one side, barely escaping the dart as it whistles past your chest.
‘Seize him!’ screams Maouk, kicking his soldiers onwards through the wreckage. ‘Don't let him get away this time!’ You are now lying on the floor less than a couple of feet away from the trapdoor.
If you wish to roll over to the trapdoor and escape,
turn to 51
.
If you decide to surrender to Maouk and his warriors,
turn to 10
.
You hit the water and swim submerged until the pain in your lungs forces you to the surface. Sharnazim are running in every direction, trying to surround the quay and prevent your escape. Gulping another breath, you dive again and swim towards a cluster of small boats less than fifty yards away.
Through the clear blue water, it is easy to see the rubbish that litters the bed of the harbour; mementoes of all the merchant ships that have docked at the quayside. Clinging to one old anchor is a strange, jelly-like blob. A mass of short tubes sticks out from all its sides, and a long hook-like scoop hangs beneath its rubbery body. Without warning, the blob suddenly jets towards you, propelled by water from its mass of breathing tubes. It is a Bloodlug, and it is hungry for your flesh!
If you have the Kai Discipline of Animal Kinship,
turn to 134
.
If you wish to fight the creature,
turn to 12
.
If you wish to evade the creature,
turn to 95
.
You set light to a tar-coated torch and hurl it down into the sewer-hole. There is a tremendous flash and roar; suddenly, all along the alley, plumes of flaming sewage explode skywards. The alley is transformed into a rush of shocked and screaming people, all scrambling to avoid the deluge of burning filth raining down on their heads. The torch has triggered a chain reaction in the
Baga-darooz
; the inflammable sewer gas has ignited — everywhere is panic and confusion.
Illustration IX—The alley is transformed into a rush of shocked and screaming people, all scrambling to avoid the deluge of burning filth.
You run with the crowd through the sewage-stained alleys until you reach a busy market square, unpolluted by the blast. Your eye is caught by a sign hanging above the side door of a large hall:
You push open the door and slip inside.
A terrible sense of dread fills your mind. Your Kai skill is warning you that a horrific and inescapable fate awaits you if you stay in this cell. You follow your instincts and attack.
You wade into the water, thick with scum, and try not to breathe through your nose. The glutinous mire is clotted with green and black filth, and with your every movement the surface cracks, releasing a vile gas. You cover your mouth with your Kai cloak, but the appalling stench makes you retch and choke. A loud splash behind you warns that Maouk's men are not far away, and you quicken your step. At regular intervals, circular chutes disappear into the ceiling. Many are stained bright yellow, white, or reddish-brown. This section of the
Baga-darooz
passes beneath the Linen Quarter of Barrakeesh, where the Guild of Linen-weavers operate their fuller's shops. The chutes dump waste dyes straight into the sewer, making the oily water even more garish in colour.
You spot a ripple in the water ahead. It moves nearer, the wake of a submerged sewer creature. Instinctively, you flatten yourself against the dye-stained wall as you feel the movement of water against your waist, and watch in fear and fascination as the ripple of water disappears into the tunnel. Suddenly, a fearful scream bursts out of the darkness; Maouk has lost one of his men. The terrible cries of the Sharnazim warrior chill your spine, but your instincts tell you to press on while you have the advantage. The channel soon reaches a junction where another tunnel heads off to the west.
If you wish to enter the new tunnel,
turn to 108
.
If you wish to continue northwards,
turn to 70
.
For a few minutes, you watch the man working at his anvil, in case he, too, should decide to leave the chamber. However, he continues to work, apparently unaffected by the scorching heat.
To reach the west door without being seen, you must make your way cautiously across the chamber, dodging from one pillar to the next. Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you have the Kai Discipline of Camouflage or Hunting, deduct 2 from the number you have chosen.
If your total is now 2 or less,
turn to 44
.
If your total is now 3 or more,
turn to 190
.
Your Kai sense tells you to beware of the man who helped you. He intends to betray you for a purse of silver.
If you wish to stay in his house,
turn to 61
.
If you wish to escape by the window,
turn to 109
.
As soon as you enter, the panel slides shut, and you are plunged into darkness. You advance nervously, your hand held before your face to part the cobwebs hanging in festoons from the low ceiling. You are a few feet away from what appears to be a dead end when you tread on a pressure plate, which activates another panel that slides back to reveal a small chamber.
You reach the door to the
Vizu-diar
without being seen, only to find that it is securely bolted from the inside. You are about to curse your bad luck when you notice a window set into an elaborately carved panel above the door; its iron shutter is open.
In spite of your injured arm, you successfully climb the nail-studded door and drop through the window into the silence of the trophy room. An eerie collection of stuffed heads lines the walls of this private chamber. Most are those of reptilian desert creatures, souvenirs of imperial hunting expeditions into the Dry Main. Among the snake-like trophies, and more gruesome, are human heads! They are ghoulish battle honours, the heads of enemy commanders slain in battle during the countless wars waged by Vassagonia.
You hurry out of the
Vizu-diar
and into a long marble corridor, where the walls are inlaid with veins of gold and pearls. It leads to a large hall where palace guards and brightly robed courtiers are walking to and fro, but a colonnade of statues provides all the cover you need to reach a distant staircase unseen. Stealthily, you sprint up the staircase to arrive at a junction where passages head off to the east and west. At the end of each is a door with a symbol engraved into the wall above. The symbol above the east door depicts a mortar and pestle; the symbol above the west door, an open book.
If you wish to investigate the east door,
turn to 57
.
If you wish to investigate the west door,
turn to 100
.
The corridor heads north but soon ends at a junction where another passage runs across from east to west. Cautiously, you peer around the corner, but there are no signs of any guards. At the end of the east passage you can see a flight of steps descending out of view; to the west, you see a closed door.
If you wish to go east, towards the stairs,
turn to 93
.
If you decide to go west, towards the door,
turn to 122
.
Your keen eye falls upon a narrow fissure in the tunnel wall. The gap is near to the level of the scum and can barely be seen in the darkness. You squeeze inside, steeling yourself as the foul water rises up to your chin. The Sharnazim pass within inches of your hiding place, and you have to fight the urge to vomit as a wave of sewage laps your face. ‘He has taken the south tunnel,’ echoes an angry voice. ‘Quickly — don't waste your time here!’
It seems an eternity before the Sharnazim retrace their steps and disappear back along the tunnel. With a sigh of relief, you emerge from the fissure, but catch your foot in something embedded in the silt of the tunnel floor and lose your balance.